Fiber-preparing machine



(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet' 1. J. L. ACOSTA. FIBER PREPARING MACHINE.

`Patented May 3, 1892.

, (No Mode-1.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.-

.J. L. ACOSTA. FIBER PREPARING MACHINE.

No. 474,052. Patented May l3, 1892.

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(No Model.) n 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. L. ACOSTA;

FIBER ,PRBPARING MACHINE.

No. 474,052. Patented May 3, 1892.

UNITED STATES PnTninTI Orman.

JOHN LUIS ACOSTA, OF VERA CRUZ, MEXICO.

FlBER-PREPARlNG MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 474,052, dated May 3, 1892. Application filed September 9,1891. Serial No. 405,155. (No model.) Patented in Mexico March 20, 1890.

To @ZZ whom it may concernf bearings for the wheels 19 20. Each. wheel is Beit known thatLJoHN LUIS ACOSTA, acitimade up of quadrantal segments, as shown, zen of the United States of Colombia, residing i secured together by bolts 2l and 'mounted in Vera Cruz, Mexico, have invented certain upon a shaft. Each wheel is armed on its new and useful Improvements in Fiber-Preperiphery with a series of blades 22 and paringMachines, (described in part inLetters brushes 33 in alternation. Patent of Mexico granted to me March 20,

round edged, and for a reason which will 1890 3) and 1 do hereby declare that the followhereinafter appear the blades and brushesof ing is a full and exact description thereof, refthe wheel 19 have one end rounded, as at 24, erence being had to the accompanying drawwhile the blades and brushes of the wheel 2O ings, and to the letters and figures of referhave both ends rounded, as at 24 25, as shown ence marked thereon, making a part of this in Fig. 3. specification. i On the wheel19 the blades and brushes are The object of my invention is to provide an parallel with the axis and with each other; improved machine for treating brous plants but on the wheel 20, which acts twice upon of various kinds for the purpose of separatthe fiber,the alternate blades are set obliquely ing the cellular tissue and other matter from in opposite directions, while the brushes are the fibers and leaving the latter in a wellparallel with the axis. I find that this arcleaned condition.

. rangement is necessary to secure the best ac- I have designed my machine particularly tion upon the fiber. The wheel 19 bears upon for the treatment of pita iiber,andinasmuch as its shaft 26, a driving-pulley 27 and a chainthe pita plant grows in places inaccessible by wheel 28. From the latter motion is transthe ordinary modes of travel and as the fiber mitted by a chain 29 to'a chain-wheel 30 on can be treated most advantageously where it a short shaft 31, which communicates motion is cut 1 have constructed my machine with through bevel-gears 32 to a cross-shaft 33. especial reference to its transportation on the From this shaft motion is transmitted by backs of mules from the coast. regions to the bevel-gears 34, short shaft 35, chain-wheels place of use. 36 3S, and chain 37 to the shaft 39 of the 1n the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevawheel 20. tion of my improved machine with part of the Brackets 40 41, bolted to the sections 11 12, base broken away. Fig. 2 is a section on the provide bearings for the shafts 42 43 of drums line @o @c of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view or wheels 44 45, which support and move a of the machine. Fig.4 isahorizontal section fiber-carrying chain 46. This chain is comon the line y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detailed posedof links and jaws, which are adapted to sectional view on a larger scale than the pregrasp and hold the iiber during` the action ceding figures. Figs. 6 and 7 are details to thereon of the wheels 19 20. The links 47 are be referred to, and Fig. 8 is a sectional view made substantially triangular in longitudinal of the machine used for the preliminary section, (see Fig. 7,) with asubstantially vercrushing of the Jdbrous material. tical end 48 and a toothed inclined surface The working parts of the machine are sup- 49, and at their ends are provided with perported upon a base 10, which is made in sections to be readily taken apart and transported. Two rectangular sections 11 12 are adapted to be secured together end to end by bolts 13, and to the sides thereof are secured the two rectangular sections 14 15 by bolts 16, the bolts which secure each section 14 to the compound section passing into and engaging both of the sections 11 12, thereby forming a pin 51, by which they are connected. (See Fig. 2.) Jaws 52, also substantially triangular in longitudinal section and having a substantially vertical end 53 and inclined `surface 54, toothed to correspond to and co-operate with the surface 49 of the links, are pivotally attached to the linkspreferably by perforated ears 55, which receive the pin 51. As the links pass about the drums or wheels 44 45 the jaws open automatically, as at the points 'a and b; but when the links lie in the base of great strength and rigidity.

Upon the sections 14 15 are removably secured the brackets 17, which are formed with The blades are forated ears 50 for the reception of a pivot- "70 and its backing 7l are supported by arms 73, bolted to the brackets 4l. A shelf 74 supports the libers between the chain and the point of action of the cleaning device.

The wheels 19 and 20 are cleaned by rotary brush-wheels 75, and the brushes ot' these wheels are cleaned by xed combs 76.

An inverted-U-shaped water-tank 77 straddles the pressure device 58 and is supported, together with said pressure device, by an arch 78, carried by arms 79, extended from the brackets 17. The legs of the tank are perforated, as at 80, to allow water to fall upon the liber and assist in the operation of cleaning. The tank is fed through a pipe 8l byapump 82, driven from the shaft of wheel 2O by a chain 83 and chain-wheels 84.

The machine shown in Fig. 8 consists, essentially, of a pair of finely-corrugated rolls S5 86, supported in a suitable frame-work 87 and actuated through gearing 88 by a drivewheel 89.

In the treatment of fiber with my machine the fibrous material is first crushed by the same plane, as in the upper and lower meiners of the chain, the vertical ends 48 of the links abut against the vertical ends 53 of the oppositely-set jaws and compel them to close, While at the same time the sheet ot' fibers held by each pair of jaws lies in a nearly horizonstructed, while grasping the libers veryirmly and being itself very strong and durable, oc-

pressure device 58. As shown, this device may consist of one or more rollers 5S), carried by a spring-prcssed block UO. The shafts of the rollers project through slots 6l in the sides ot' the supporting-case 62 and the stem of the block through a hole in the top of the case, whereby the movements of the rollers are guided and limited. ofA the block 56 is also grooved to receive the this the librous material is placed beneath the jaws of the chain 46 as they open at the point a and is carried by it between the wheels 19 and 20, by which the projecting ends are thoroughly cleaned. By rounding the ends of the blades and brushes which meet the advancing material and by providmember of the chain, and consequently less ing the blades with blunt edges in place of necessity of a yielding pressure device, than th in the case of the upper member. The chain jury to the fiber itself. As the jaws of the is driven by a worm-.wheel 64 on the shaft of ch he material is one of the wheels, said worm-wheel being` enportion regaged by a worm 65 on a shaft 66. viously grasped by the jaws into the p carries a chain-wheel 67 and is driven by a the blades and brushes on the wheel 2O at the chain 68 fromachain-wheel (59 on the shaft-.26.

The wheels 19 20 are preferablyso disposed with reference to as that the be thoroughly cleaned and straightened and ready for the preliminary steps of spinning. i By making the machine as described, with sides of said chain. The projecting ends of the fiber are supported to receive the action of said blades and brushes by concave plates 70, preferably of brass and held in position by suitable backing 7l. The fibrous material held by the upper member ot' the chain is grasped in the middle, and both projecting When it has been brought by the chain to the point Zi, (see Fig.

backs of mules or by carriers to any place where it may be desired to set it up.

I have herein described a particular embodiment of my improvements; but the details of construction may be varied without departing from thespirit of my invention.

I c aim as my inventionv ber-carrying chain composed of links substantially triangular in longitudinal section, wlth one end substantially vertical, and jaws also substantially triangular and o sitely set with respect to said links and pivotally secured thereto near the apices of said links, substantially as shown and described.

e combination of a series of links pivoted end to end substantially triangular in in order that the portion previously grasped may be cleaned also. I therefore make one which the fiber may project into the path of the blades and brushes on the wheel 20.

In order that the path of the liber may be unobstructed, the upper portion of the plate longitudinal section, having each a substantially vertical end and an inclined upper surface provided with teeth7 and aseries of jaws pivotally secured to said links and set reversely with respect thereto and having each a substantially vertical end and an inclined lower surface provided with teeth, substantially as shown and described.

8. The combination, with an endless libercarrying chain composed of links and jaws adapted to co-operate to grasp the fiber, wheels carrying said chain, and wheels armed with devices for cleaning the ber, of a fixed block below the lower member of the chain to support the same, a block supported between the upper and lower members of said chain and grooved on its upper and lower sides to receive the chain, and a pressuredevice to press upon the upper member of said chain, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with a fiber-carrying chain and horizontally-disposed wheels to support and move said chain, of wheels armed with devices for cleaning the ber and set adjacent to the line of travel of said chain, and plates set with their upper edges about on a line with the line of travel of the upper member of said chain and adaptedto support the liber under the action of the cleaning devices, one of said plates having a slit about on a line with the line of travel of the lower member of said chain, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination, with a fiber-carrying chain and horizontally-placed wheels to support and move said chain, of two wheels placed on opposite sides'of said chain and adjacent to the line of travel thereof, iber-cleaning blades and brushes upon the periphery of said wheels, the blades and brushes upon one wheel having one end rounded to meet the fibers carried by the one member of said chain and the blades and brushes upon the other wheel having both ends rounded to meet the fibers carried in each direction by the upper and lower membei s, respectively, of said chain, plates to support the fibers under the action of both wheels and having their upper edges adjacent to the upper member of said chain, and a third plate having its upper edge adjacent to the lower member of said chain and adapted to support the fibers carried by said member under the action of said second wheel, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination, with a ber-carrying chain and horizontally-placed wheels to support and move said chain, of two wheels placed on opposite sides of said chain and adjacent to the line of travel thereof, ber-cleaning blades and brushes upon the periphery of said wheels, the blades and brushes upon one wheelbeing parallel with the axis and with each other and the brushes upon the second wheel being also parallel with the axis and with each other, while the blades upon said wheel are obliquely inclined with respect to the axis alternately in opposite directions, plates to support the fibers under the action of both wheels and having their upper edges adjacent to the upper member of said chain, and a third plate having its upper edge adjacent to the lower member of said chain and adapted to support the fibers carried by said member under the action of said second wheel, substantially as shown and described..

7. The combination, with a fiber-carrying chain, supports therefor, and a pressure device to press upon said chain, of a water-tank straddling said pressure device and provided with perforations in the extremities of its legs to permit water to escape upon the fibers projecting from said chain, substantially as shown and described.

8. The combination, in a fiber-preparing machine, of a base composed of rectangular sections ll and l2, bolts to unite them end to end, rectangular sections 14: and 15, and bolts to secure them to opposite sides of the first-named sections, said last-named bolts passing into and engaging the sides of both of said sections 1l 12, and brackets removably secured to said sections and adapted to support the operative parts of the mechanism, substantially as shown and described..

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOI-IN LUIS ACOSTA.

'Vitnesses:` v

W. B. GREELEY, A. N. JEsBnRA. 

